


A Haunting

by kuro_fangirl_818



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Ciel Confused, Sebastian Shows His Darker Side, Sebastian slightly being more independent, kinda scary, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 22:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5557880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro_fangirl_818/pseuds/kuro_fangirl_818
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The voices, the shadows, they were upon him now. He could hear them, feel them. They were merely inches around the corner from where he stood planted in place from terror. He could feel their suffocating presence as he began to feel the last of his breath starting to flee from his lungs. It was dark, so dark, and though Ciel was no stranger to darkness this darkness, this pure manifestation of evil, was not like anything the boy had ever experienced before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Haunting

**Chapter 1:**

Alone with his thoughts that evening, Ciel accepted that he had been feeling odd.  A familiar feeling had come upon him and he recognized it as something he had not felt for what seemed like an eternity. It was the feeling of home. He lowered his head, tightly squeezing his eyes closed focusing on trying to flush away that thought. This couldn’t be home. Yes, he was in the Phantomhive manor and yes, this manor was a perfect replica of the same manor that once stood at this exact spot – but it wasn’t home nor could it ever be. Home was where Ciel could find his mother and father resting in the sitting room sewing and reading a book. Home was his father’s hand running through his hair. Home was his mother’s lullaby at night. That was the home Ciel remembered. This was an illusion; a game put on to appeal to everything within the boy so that the relinquishing of his soul -- the thing most valuable to him whether he knew that or not -- would be an easier process.

He smoothed his hands over his face before looking up at his butler who was preparing his tea. The demon’s face was blander than usual and he realized he had been so engulfed that he hadn’t noticed the man walk in the study. He took the cup of tea sipping it slightly before casting his gaze on the man, whom he had noticed was intently staring at him. Ciel swallowed.

“Is there a problem?” he said starkly.

Sebastian bowed slightly and exited the study. Ciel’s eyes narrowed. One thing he tried to ignore but was not oblivious to was the fact that his life had become extremely normal. After the incident with Hannah the angel and the cult, the process of finding his parent’s murderers and his wrong-doers had slowly came to a standstill. Ciel found himself now just living the day-to-day life of an earl, attending parties, hosting dinners, trying to entertain and keep up with his fiancée, those sorts of things. He knew very well that this was not what Sebastian wanted. The demon had become tenser since that day which now seemed like months ago. This was the source of the thoughts that raced through the young earl’s mind. Knowing that they were now farther from finding the people who disgraced him and his family, the days all seemed to blur together into a cycle of normalcy that had no promise of getting the earl to his goal and the demon to his meal.

Since then Ciel noticed a new aura in the manor. One only he could feel. It felt like a choking darkness, a darkness that seemed to remind Ciel constantly that he was not doing what needed to be done to fulfill his contract with the demon. It was the presence of this darkness that reminded the boy that this could not be his home and the normalcy he was feeling was not meant to be. Signing over his soul to the demon meant Ciel could no longer have the luxury of “normal” and though being Earl Phantomhive, the Queen’s Guard Dog, the mediator of London’s underground, in itself didn’t call for a “normal” life, any sense of what could be considered normal for a boy with that title was stripped away as well. Ciel had no home but with the demon. Wherever Ciel went he went, and visa-versa. So he knew that the reoccurring feelings of comfort in this place had to stop, otherwise, it could potentially bring about his own doom.

That aforementioned darkness, a type of shadow, seemed to follow Ciel closely wherever he went. He sensed it even now as he sat at his desk in the study. He stood up, purposefully making the chair scoot loudly across the wooden floor. He had hoped the abrupt sound would break the monotony of silence Ciel had been surrounded by all day. Instead it was simply swallowed up by that shadow, so much so that he even had to stick his finger in his ear to ensure that he could still hear properly.

The young boy made his way down the hall heading nowhere in particular. He just wanted to stretch his legs.

“Ciel”

He stopped. Looking behind him and straining his eyes to see in front of him as he wondered who had called him. The hallways were darkening, which was odd because it was only early afternoon. After seeing no one around, he shook off the phenomenon as anxiety and continued his stroll down the hall. The hallway seemed longer than usual. Yes, the manor was massive but Ciel felt as though he had been walking forever, yet he did not recognize where he was. Everything seemed stretched, as if the environment around him was being pulled from all sides.

“Ciel”

He rubbed his eyes fiercely, letting his walking cane drop to the floor. Looking around again he saw tall shadows beginning to emerge from the darkness in the distance. Frightening figures coated with the darkness of midnight crept down the hallway, which now seemed to have shortened, towards the trembling boy. He ran.

Ciel sped thought the halls faster than he ever imagined he could glancing every once and again behind him at the shadowy figures chasing him. He turned the corner running to the first door he saw. Grasping to the knob he tugged and pushed. Locked. Looking up from the door and down the hall he realized he had ran himself into a dead end. Whatever was chasing him was now closer than before. He could hear them, their voices straining in the shortening distance. Their sound was that of pure agony, tortured whines echoing in the darkness of the hall. They were the voices of hell. Ciel could feel himself trembling to the bone as terror rose over him practically gluing him to the ground. With nowhere to run and no ability to, he tried desperately to open his mouth.

“Se-“

“Ciel”

He knew the demon was upset with him. With his inability to move forward with his revenge. With his secret enjoyment of his normal life.

“GIVE US YOUR SOUL”

“Sebas-“

So, this is what happens when you can’t hold your end of a bargain with a demon? This is how it ends, being personally dragged to the Gates of Hell by its inhabitants. Ciel knew this day would come. It was no surprise that this would be his fate. However he imagined that Sebastian would be the one to bring him, guiding him to his eternity after his quest had been completed. This, however, he was not ready for.

The voices, the shadows, they were upon him now. He could hear them, feel them. They were merely inches around the corner from where he stood planted in place from terror. He could feel their suffocating presence as he began to feel the last of his breath flee from his lungs. It was dark, so dark, and though Ciel was no stranger to darkness this darkness, this pure manifestation of evil, was not like anything the boy had ever experienced before. Using all the strength he could muster within him he forced himself to breathe out a final word as the darkness swarmed around the corner.

“Sebastian--”

*

*

*

“Bocchan, I’m glad you’re finally waking. You fell asleep at your desk. I know you’ve been working hard so I found it best to let you rest.”

Ciel violently gasped awake and found himself desperately grasping the collar of his butler’s coat. Sebastian was carrying the young earl down the hall.

“A-asleep?” He stuttered as he frantically looked around him. This wasn’t the hall coming to or from the study. As a matter of fact, he knew this hallway. He was…just…here. He looked up wide-eyed at his butler who was charmingly smiling as he carried the boy to his room. He didn’t have the energy to ask questions and he was sure he didn’t want to.

As Ciel was being prepared for bed he couldn’t help his trembling. His butler, noticing his master’s inability to be calm, kneeled before the boy.

“Bocchan, do not let whatever is on your mind worry you.” Ciel glared up at the demon.

“And what do you know about what’s on my mind? What do you know about what I saw? That wasn’t a dream, Sebastian! I know it wasn’t. It…it was too real…”

“Rest now, my young lord.” Sebastian’s voice was as calm as a river. He pressed a gloved hand on the boys shoulder forcing him to lay back in the bed and pulled the cover up to his neck. As he turned to leave he heard the young boy shuffle under the sheets.

“Sebastian, stay here until I fall asleep.”

The raven-haired man smiled devilishly. “I don’t think my presence will give you any more comfort, my lord.” He turned to his master, bowed graciously, and then silently exited the room.

Ciel narrowed his eyes but he couldn’t help but notice that the darkness that was once known to follow him like a shadow had seemingly slipped away with the leaving of his butler. He inhaled deeply. The tension he was so used to had now vanished and he could feel every muscle in his body relaxing. His body sunk deeper into his soft bed as his eyes become overwhelmingly heavy with fatigue. For the first time in a long time Ciel fell asleep with no problem.

*

*

*

The pitch-black shadow darted down the corridors of the Phantomhive manor rapidly turning corners until it met the feet of the rave-haired demon, a devilish smile still plastered on his face. His crimson eyes showed vibrantly as he seemingly absorbed the shadow, exhaling as he did.

“Sleep well, bocchan. I’m sure you’ll be ready to resume your work in the morning.”


End file.
